US Senate confirms Indianapolis attorney as federal judge

 (AP) — An Indianapolis attorney is set to become the newest judge for a federal court district that’s been in a judicial emergency for years.

The U.S. Senate confirmed J.P. Hanlon as a federal judge Thursday for the Southern District of Indiana. He’s currently a partner in the Indianapolis office of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.

Hanlon will join Indiana’s Southern District, which declared a judicial emergency after a longtime judge took senior status in 2014, creating a heavy caseload.

Between June 2016 and June 2017, the district was the nation’s second-most overworked court, with 915 filings per judgeship.

The district has courts in Indianapolis, Evansville, Terre Haute and New Albany.